Who and what are the top polluters in your zip code?
We live in San Mateo County. Our top polluters in our zip code were:
Toxic Chemicals released by factories, power plants and other industrial companies.This makes a lot of sense because we live near South San Francisco the next city over (I grew up in South SF, but reside in Daly City) near the airport with the industrial power plants and other companies. I grew up in South San Francisco, which is actually nicknamed the “Industrial City.”
What percent of the homes in your zipcode have lead-based paint?
Luckily, only 1% of the houses in San Mateo County were found to have a high lead hazard.
Are there Superfund sites in your zip? Superfund sites are the nation’s worst toxic waste sites, according to Scorecard.org. Luckily, there are no superfund sites located in our county. The nearest superfund site near our zipcode is the Treasure Island Naval Station Hunters Point Annex.
What did you learn about the air quality in your zipcode?
In San Mateo County, we have relatively good amounts of clean air, but that could be polluted because we have many freeways within our area. Where I live, there are three different main freeway entrances that produce heavy car traffic on a daily basis. Because of this area we live in is next freeway ramps, that could be inhibiting our air quality even more.
How about the water quality?
Pesticides 57%
Sediments 33%
Pathogens 17%
Nutrients 17%
Mercury 13%
Compared to the rest of the United States, our water is quite dirty. Upon further evaluation, 57% of the water contaminated contains pesticides and sediments.
How did your zipcode fair on a social justice / environmental justice basis?
Overall, I am very lucky to live in a county that (compared to the rest of Northern California) is considerably cleaner, compared to other parts of the cities. Although we live near an industrial city (South San Francisco), and the airport, a lot of the major chemical plants are not located within this area. I live in a very mixed community, with predominant Asian, White and Hispanic neighbors who live the same quality of life as I do. However, I did speak with my one African American neighbor who has moved four different times because his children have asthma and they had a very difficult time breathing and seeking medical attention because where they were previously (Bakersfield, Modesto, Oakland and now Daly City) access to hospitals / clinics were difficult when his children needed immediate respiratory assistance. One of his children needs a pure humidifier in their downstairs in-law where they stay with their family members who own the house because they do not have windows (they live in a basement). As I was talking to my neighbor, I shared with him all the articles I read about social injustice for certain communities and he absolutely agreed that he was in the best location possible. There is an emergency room hospital less than a mile away (can be walking for emergencies less than 30 minutes) so that gives my neighbor extra comfort.
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Hi Terri -
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad to hear about your neighbor but it does make sense because i know that Bakersfield has a very high number of kids with asthma. It is lucky that they were able to move to San Mateo County, but i also know that it is much more expensive to live there than the other places they lived and that most people in their situation likely could not afford to move there. This speaks to the issue of environmental justice that lower income families, and often families of color, can only afford to live in places with poorer air quality.